1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video distribution systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, video programming is broadcast to subscribers via cable and satellite systems. Subscribers may purchase a service that uses a digital video recorder at a subscriber location in conjunction with an electronic program guide to record broadcast programs. Examples of the DVRs include those sold under the brand names of TIVO® and REPLAYTV®. Users can play back recorded programs at a time that is convenient.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services may allow video-on-demand services, but in many cases the bandwidth of the channel is not sufficient to transmit high quality video signals in real time.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0042249 discloses a system and method for transferring entertainment media files over the Internet. Show requests can occur in two ways. In one method, a user can directly request a show, such as browsing through a directory and selecting a show to request from the server. In a second method, a user can subscribe to a particular show, series of episodes, or genre of entertainment, for example. As episodes included in a subscription become available at the server-side, they are automatically delivered to the client using the client's idle bandwidth.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0027563 discloses a client terminal that monitors a user's viewing habits to determine favorite shows. Thereafter, if the terminal is not activated by the user to watch one of these favorites, the terminal notices the event and automatically copies the program onto disk to the extent storage space permits. Recorded programs are not deleted after viewing, however their storage space may be overwritten by other recordings. Recorded programs that have not been viewed are overwritten as needed, oldest first. Viewed programs are overwritten before non-viewed programs. A variety of more complex rules and policies is typically provided to govern which recorded programs are deleted to provide storage for new programs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,444 discloses an auxiliary menu item that provides a preset for recording of a next episode in a series.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0040475 discloses an electronic programming guide having enhanced functionality which includes the ability to track previously selected content so that identical or similar programs can be recorded in the future. Also disclosed is a duplicate episode filter which alerts a user if a duplicate episode is being recorded. The duplicate episode filter tracks the list of recorded programs for duplicates when a record operation is initiated. If a match is determined, a notification may be visually displayed for the user.
The aforementioned publication further discloses visually alerting the viewer as a percentage of storage consumed by recorded material reaches lower levels. For an out-of-disk space alert, a user may receive a notification indicating the approximate minutes of recording time still available while recording is in progress. If the program length is greater than the amount of unused storage space available, the user may receive a notification indicating such, as well at the recording time available, prior to or at the start of the recording.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0038358 discloses a module designed to accommodate a request to add a single show. The module is used to add record events as specified after checking for conflicts or free disk space availability. Exemplary data that can be helpful in creating a data structure to be used by the module include an indicator to record all episodes and an indicator of the number of episodes.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0124249 discloses having advertisements downloaded to a set-top box. The advertisements are merged with content either dynamically during playback or by modification to the stored content to insert new advertisements. Time and date can be used to avoid displaying obsolete advertisements. Advertisements can be individually selected for each user based on the user's individual profile, thus making playback an individual playback for each user. In addition, advertising can be varied based upon the content, advertisement history, playback time and date. Thus, the particular advertisement associated with a video-on-demand selection is not static. Advertisement history can be used to optimize the frequency any particular advertisement is provided to a user to maintain the user's interest without the user becoming annoyed with the advertisement.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0129375 discloses having data pre-loaded onto a set-top box (STB). For example, short pre-loaded video clips such as movie trailers or advertisements may be displayed prior to showing a selected video. To increase the probability that a viewer will watch the trailers and advertisements, the pre-loaded trailer clips can be selected based on a subscriber's profile.
A set-top box database from each subscriber's set-top box is collected on a regular basis. Using this information, the list of trailers to be loaded for a given set-top box is modified to remove both already-watched trailers and trailers of videos already rented.
The set-top box includes a video file agent which determines the availability of a requested video by checking a video lookup table. The video lookup table comprises videos stored by the set-top box, videos stored at a central office, and videos stored at a video warehouse. Through a hierarchical menu display, where videos at the video warehouse are on the last set of sub-menus, a higher priority is given to menus for the videos stored by the set-top box and the central office. A higher premium could be charged for videos stored at the video warehouse to encourage subscribers to choose videos stored at the set-top box and the central office. Using the available list of trailers resident on the set-top box, the video file agent selects a mix of video trailers for viewing based on a usage profile of the subscriber and a category of video selected.
Videos transferred to a set-top box memory are divided into chapters. A subscriber can move from chapter to chapter without having to play through undesired chapters. The video chapters can be transferred in a nonlinear, weighted distribution that is more heavily buffered in the beginning video chapters.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0052782 discloses rewarding users for viewing advertisements and for providing information about themselves. This facilitates selection and targeting of advertisements, and allows video channel viewers to subsidize and pay for the video channel programs that they are watching and the interactive video service they are using. An incentive might comprise a rate at which the buyer entity is compensated for viewing and/or interacting with advertisements. Additionally, or alternatively, it might comprise rewards that are promised to the buyer entity for responding in certain ways to these advertisements.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0059584 discloses content providers (broadcasters and advertisers) using usage history information to develop various content access, billing, and compensation models for consumers and content creators/owners.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,996 discloses interactive television advertising models wherein a user may control the content and/or commercial information received. In some cases, certain commercial sponsors may be able to avoid deletion of their advertisement, while others may allow truncation. The acceptability of this to the consumer may depend on subsidies. Instead of paying for placements directly to the media, a portion is paid to a service provider, based on consumer viewing. The media, on the other hand, may seek to adopt a pay-per-view policy, at least with respect to the service provider, in lieu of direct advertising revenues. The service provider will account to both advertisers and content providers for use. With sufficient viewing of commercials, the entire service charge for a system might be covered for a user. On the other hand, a viewer might prefer to avoid all commercials, and not get the benefit of a subsidy. In this case, the recipient may be denied a subsidy from the commercial advertiser, and pay for the privilege of commercial free content.
The service provider performs the function of delivering optimized, substituted commercials for the general commercials provided by the commercial broadcast networks, and thus can accrue profits after paying content providers a fee. An advertiser, by selecting a particular audience, may pay less than it would otherwise pay to a broadcaster. The content providers may also charge more for the privilege of use of their works.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0078176 discloses downloading rented video data files in a time sensitive format that will delete the file or make it inaccessible or unviewable after the expiration of a specific rental period and/or after a specified number of viewings. Purchased and/or rented video data files are downloaded in a copy protected format to prevent unauthorized reproduction or resale of the video data files by the customer.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0129371 discloses use of content management information having an access time threshold value and charging information. The access time threshold value is a time from a point at which a client receives content-related information until a point at which the client actually requests content distribution. For some content, the longer the access time, the lower is the charge, i.e. slow access enables the user to receive a discount. Reducing the charge as access time increases can be used as a charging method for media of highly real-time character, such as news, and media that have greater value the more recent they are such as movies.